


What's Your Problem?

by ThePunkRockCheerleader



Category: Mindless Self Indulgence, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, F/M, Fluff, Lindsey's not tolerating that shiz, Starbucks, a teeny bit of violence, heart-eyes Gerard, non-binary!Gerard, punk!Lindsey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-13 01:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7956019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePunkRockCheerleader/pseuds/ThePunkRockCheerleader
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lindsey's late to her art class after a morning full of inconveniences and overhears a confrontation.</p><p>Inspired by the salt I felt towards an abuser-to-lover fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's Your Problem?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first complete, half-decent fic on here, and obviously it was because I was feeling salty this one time and made up a prompt that I couldn't shake. So here it is: the healthy start to a relationship AU!

Lindsey's morning was off to a bad start. The boiler had been broken since the day before, and after waking up late, gritting her teeth through an icy shower, and tumbling out the front door into the snow, her car wouldn't start. Not wanting to wake her mother up, who'd just fallen asleep after a night shift, she'd had to hook up both cars herself to jump start the engine. Fifteen minutes of realising skinny jeans don't keep you warm later, the engine finally growled to life, _and then_ she realised she was running on fumes.

Eventually she rolled into the school's parking lot, taking the only free spot on the opposite side of where she wanted to be, and trudged through the snow, keeping an eye out for patches of ice.

It wasn't until she had her hand on the door of the art block's entrance that she noticed the voices. They were male, low and aggressive, and Lindsey couldn't help but pause and listen. It wasn't uncommon for kids to skip class, and behind the art block where the voices were coming from was one of Lindsey's favourite places to hide, sometimes smoke. But it was freezing - she couldn't feel her toes, despite two pairs of socks and her military boots. No one in their right mind would bunk there in this weather.

Curiosity urged her to take a look around the corner, and she'd taken a few steps in that direction before she stopped herself. It wasn't any of her business. She didn't really want to get spotted if they were dealing - that would just make her day _so_ much worse. She shouldn't let curiosity get the better of her.

But then, through the crisp winter air, came the unmistakable sound of a fist meeting face, followed by a terrified whimper.

And that's how Lindsey lost her cool.

Tossing her bag behind a bush, she stomped around the corner and growled "Hey!" at the group of boys.

There were three of them: two jocks with their backs to her, standing over a goth kid, who was shuffling backwards in the snow away from them. When Lindsey yelled, they turned, and she recognised one of them... Leto, from the year below or something. A wannabe football kid. She knew his type.

"Get lost, freak!" he dismissed, turning back to his prey.

"No. Get the fuck away from him!" she spat back, refusing to let them intimidate her. Surprised by her fearlessness, he snapped his head back round to her.

"This is none of your business, bitch," Leto sneered. The other jock walked over to the kid and dragged him up by the collar so he was standing, and rested a cautionary arm around his shoulders. "Why don't you run off to class and keep your fucking mouth shut?"

"No way. You two aren't gonna lay another hand on him, or you're gonna have hell to pay for."

"Oh really?" he laughed, before punching the boy right in the stomach. "Like that?"

Something inside Lindsey's head snapped, and for half a second she blacked out. The next thing she knew, she'd closed the distance between her and Leto, and was kicking her boot-clad foot into his chin. He stumbled back, his friend letting go of the boy to catch him before he fell.

"Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" he yelled, cradling his face. She took another step forwards. Even though she was shorter than him, in her rage she seemed to tower over him as she got up in Leto's face, staring him down.

"Do you know who the fuck I am, and who my friends are?" Lindsey asked, and Leto nodded. "I don't want you even _looking_ in this guy's direction again. If I hear _anything_ about him being bullied again, I'll be after you first, and I'll make sure you're off the team for a very, _very_ long time. Got it?"

Leto swallowed, his face never betraying any fear - his expression had stayed steely the whole time. Seemingly caught somewhere between the shock of someone actually fighting him back and some bullshit macho code about not fighting girls, it was like she'd literally knocked the confidence out of him. Once Lindsey had finished her threat, he nodded once, and Lindsey backed off.

"Glad we've sorted that out. Now, why don't you run off to class? Keep your fucking mouth shut!"

He glanced over to his friend and jerked his head towards where Lindsey had come from, and they took off, leaving her and the boy alone.

Lindsey took a closer look at him. He was a little chubby, with a mop of dyed black hair under a grey wool beanie. Under his left eye, she could see where a bruise was already starting to form, purple against his frost-bitten cheeks. She noticed he was hugging himself, and realised his coat had been torn off of him and lay discarded a few metres away.

"God, you must be freezing!" she said as she went to pick it up. "Here. I'm Lindsey."

"'M Gerard," he mumbled, pulling his coat on. He still seemed nervous - he kept glancing up at Lindsey in awe, but as soon as their eyes met, he'd look away again. "Thanks."

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"N-no, I'm alright. Cold."

"My car's got a heater, if you wanna warm up?" she asked. "Like, not in a weird way. The school heaters are shit; you'll warm up quicker in the car."

"Uh, I..." he hesitated. "Uh, yeah, thanks."

She started walking, Gerard following shyly behind her. As they passed the art block, Lindsey retrieved her bag from where she'd hidden it.

"Why's your bag in the bush?" asked Gerard.

"I kinda guessed I'd get into a fight," she admitted. "I didn't want my art stuff to get ruined."

"You do art?"

"Yeah!"

"Same!"

"It's kinda the stereotype that the arty kids get beaten up. Is that what happened?"

"No, uh..." He looked up at Lindsey nervously. "I-I'm non-binary. They found out, and... y'know."

"Fucking assholes," Lindsey seethed. "Don't ever be ashamed of who you are, alright? No matter what they say, there's nothing wrong with you."

Gerard gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

"What do you want me to refer to you as, by the way?"

"Ah, 'he' or 'they' is fine. I don't mind."

"Got it!"

They reached Lindsey's car, and as soon as they were in, she was cranking the heater up to the max. After a minute, Gerard's coat was back off, draped over the back seats to let the melted snow evaporate. The beanie stayed, however, and she couldn't stop herself from noticing how cute he looked in it. He gave off a warm aura past all the shyness, like you could vent all your problems to him and he'd hug you and tell you it was going to be OK.

"Why did you stop them?" he asked suddenly, warming his hands over the air vent.

"Because it was the right thing to do," Lindsey shrugged.

"Nobody seems to really care about that anymore," he said glumly. "People are fine with letting horrible people get away with anything."

"I can't," she admitted. "I can't stand seeing people get hurt. Back there, I heard that punch, and... I dunno. I knew if I'd have kept walking, what would've happened to you would be on my hands. I'd have been just as bad as them."

There was a pause as Gerard mulled over what she'd said. "Thank you," he eventually replied.

"No problem." She watched him for a second before continuing. "Hey, I do want to get to know you. Like, if we hang out, the bullies are less likely to go after you. My friends and I have a bad reputation for our anti-bullying stance."

"You're part of that girl punk witch coven, right?" he asked, making Lindsey laugh.

"Never heard that before! 'Girl punk witch coven' - I like it!"

"Yeah, you guys are kinda notorious! I've always loved your aesthetic - the supernatural kinda look."

"Really? What's your favourite type of creature?"

"Oh, definitely vampires! What's yours, aside from witches?"

"You know me so well!" she chuckled. "It's a tie between vampires and ghouls. I'm trying to get a Morticia Addams look going on."

"Now that you mention it, I can kinda see it," Gerard said, studying her face. "Yeah! You're like a teenage replica! You're very pretty!"

Realising what he'd just blurted, his eyes widened in horror and he looked down at his fidgeting fingers.

"Thank you," said Lindsey, trying to ignore her blush. "I guess that's a 'yes' then?"

"'Yes'?"

"'Yes' to wanting to hang around with us."

"Uhh- Are you sure? You'd want me around? I-I'm not cool at all; I'm a bit of a nerd."

"Neither are we, Gee! We just pretend we are. Like I said, we'll keep the bullies off your back, and I think you'd fit in with the other girls."

"But I'm not a girl..."

"Well, _you_ gave us the name ' _girl_ punk witch coven'. We could easily change it to 'non-binary punk witch/vampire coven'!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Why not?" Lindsey smiled. Something warm started to grow in her chest as she watched a genuine grin blossom across his face.

"Alright! Yeah, I'd like that!"

"Great! Hey, I think this is an excuse to go and get some coffee. What do you say?"

"Uhh, are you sure?" Gee glanced nervously at the clock on the dashboard. "What about school?"

"It's too late to bother with this period. We've got 45 minutes until next lesson starts, so we could leave now and sign in at reception - say we got stuck in the snow."

Gee seemed to loosen up again at her plan, and cracked a sly grin. "Is this why you lured me to your car?" he joked. "To take me on a date?"

"Jerk!" Lindsey laughed. "Coffee is warm; snow is cold. Starbucks is nice; bullies are not. I'm just trying to be friendly here!"

"I'm just, like, a slut for coffee," confessed Gerard. "Go on, then! Why not?"

They kept chatting as Lindsey drove them off of the school grounds. He was in the grade below Lindsey, and had a younger brother called Mikey. He liked supernatural and horror movies, and wanted to be a comic book artist. He was also a huge nerd - once he started talking about something he was passionate about, he'd keep talking for ages.

Lindsey told him about how she wanted to become a famous artist. She wanted her work in galleries, and to be able to make a living off of her art. She couldn't see herself in an office job, doing the same thing day after day. More than anything, she wanted to stay true to herself, no matter what.

"Could I see your sketch book?" asked Gee as they sat down at a table with their coffees.

"Sure," she said, pulling it out of her bag.

Gee carefully put it down on the table and opened it to the first page. Lindsey watched him as he took his time to absorb every page, from the shitty scribbles between her and Francis to the detailed watercolours she'd spent hours on.

"These are amazing," said Gee once he'd got to the last page. "I could look at this for hours! Like, my favourite..." he paused to flip back to the piece he wanted - a first draft of something she was planning on submitting as part of her coursework - and tapped the corner with his finger. "This one really made me feel something. The _Alice in Wonderland_ drawings over that poem really brings the two together."

"It's only a first draft," Lindsey blushed, gesturing to different parts of the piece. "I wrote this note to a friend a while back - it's not really a poem! But I wanna glue it to a canvas and paint all these designs over the top."

"Once you've finished it, I'll buy it off you."

"Seriously?"

"Hell yeah! This is basically how I feel about relationships! Uh, 'I don't like relationships. They scare me more than anything'," he quoted. "Like, I fall in love so easily, but I always see myself as nothing more than a fling to the other person. Being in a serious relationship... I don't know. I can't see myself in one. Not because I don't want one: I just think it would be scary to trust someone with myself. I don't think anyone would be able to deal with me for too long."

"Like, the fear of loving without being loved?" asked Lindsey.

"Yeah."

 "That's _exactly_ what I was trying to say with this," Lindsey nodded. "I love the idea of love. I love other people, but I'm scared of anyone loving me. It doesn't feel right; I don't feel worthy."

"Oh my god, you are _so_ worth it! You're a great person, Linds. You'll find someone who appreciates and loves everything you do some day." Gee blushed, glancing down at the picture briefly. "Like, I really appreciate you standing up for me today. Nobody's ever done that before - well, no one's _successfully_ done that before. You were like a miracle when you kicked that guy in the face!"

She laughed. "I wouldn't call myself a miracle! But it _was_ fun!"

"You do martial arts, then?"

"Yeah, mixed martial arts every Saturday morning. It's great fun - you should come along!"

"What, and get my ass kicked even more?" Gee snorted.

"It's not like that at all! We don't set out to hurt each other - it's more techniques to neutralise anyone if they were a threat to anyone's safety."

"Like kicking bullies in the face?"

"Exactly! You don't really fight each other - it's more shadow-fighting, or holding up pads for someone else to kick. It's a friendly environment; a surprisingly non-violent one, considering!"

"My brother does judo," said Gee. "He gets into fights for fun - he loves it! I'm always scared I'd get hurt!"

"Nah - only a bruise or scratch at the most. Rarely anything serious!"

It was getting close to time for them to leave, and as they bundled up again to face the biting chill outside, Lindsey felt the familiar plastic lump in her coat pocket bump against her hip as she put it on.

“Hey, I should probably give you my number, actually,” she said, pulling out her phone and opening it to the phonebook. “You know, now that you’re an honorary vampire and everything!”

“A-Uh, yeah! Cool!” Gee blushed, not looking up from his phone as he typed her number in and reading his out to her. “Uh, thanks for everything, y’know? Like, for this little escape out here, and uh, watching out for me. You’re really great! I don’t know how to make it up to you.”

Acting on a whim and really, _really_ hoping she wasn’t about to make things weird, she took her hand out her pocket and offered it to him, wiggling her fingers as he stared at it for a second. Just as doubt and embarrassment started to loom, he reached out and linked his fingers with hers. They were still warm from being wrapped around a coffee cup for the last half hour, and their hands felt perfect…

Lindsey stopped that mushy shit right there, refusing to become some kind of teen romance trope. She may have been many tropes in her lifetime, but “mushy romantic” was _not_ going to become one of them.

Looking up at Gee with his stupid lip bite, clearly trying to contain a freak-out, she realised they probably had enough mushy emotions between them as it was.

Breaking out into a grin, she darted towards the exit, practically dragging a giggling Gee along behind her.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I just wanted them to be happy, so I probably went overboard with the fluff.
> 
> Leave Kudos if you liked!!!


End file.
